Liverpool dramatically re-enter race for missing midfield piece who’ll take them £10m overbudget in January

Liverpool remain interested in rivalling Bayern Munich for the signing of Fulham enforcer Joao Palhinha to complete their midfield rebuild, a report has claimed.

Palhinha only joined Fulham last year from Sporting CP, but after an encouraging debut season in the Premier League, he came close to leaving them this summer. Bayern Munich were on the verge of acquiring him, until Fulham pulled the plug because of a lack of their own replacement.

Sources told TEAMtalk in September – the same month in which Palhinha earned an improved contract at Craven Cottage – that the Portugal international had made it clear to his employers that he would like to join Bayern in January.

This time, Fulham would have more time to identify a replacement, so it will be interesting to see if they honour his wishes.

Now, in a new twist, Anfield Watch has claimed that Liverpool are back in the battle for Palhinha after previously establishing themselves as an interested party in the summer.

Liverpool signed Alexis Mac Allister, Dominik Szoboszlai and Ryan Gravenberch this summer, but the only natural holding midfielder they brought in was the veteran Wataru Endo. Thus, they might still be in the market for a long-term successor to Fabinho, especially if that would mean freeing up Mac Allister to play in a more familiar role.

In that regard, Palhinha might be the solution they have been looking for. The 28-year-old has better pedigree than Endo and has already acclimatised to the Premier League, making more tackles than any other player in the division last season (he is already second in the standings for the new campaign in that department too, behind only Luton Town’s Marvelous Nakamba).

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In order to sign him, Liverpool would have to meet Fulham’s asking price of £70m. The problem is, according to the report, their budget for the January transfer window is only £60m.

Any player sales they oversee in the winter could adjust what they are willing to spend, but it remains to be seen if they will try their luck for Palhinha at a lower amount than what Fulham want.

After all, the Lisbon-born ace is not their only target for the no.6 berth. They have also revived their interest in Brazilian prospect Andre, whom Fluminense refused to sell in the summer while they were on their route to the Copa Libertadores final, which will take place next month.

Palhinha or Andre for Liverpool?

The 22-year-old would be even more of a long-term option than Palhinha, but Liverpool will have to weigh up how much of an instant impact they need in the position. If the answer is to a significant degree, Palhinha may be preferable, but if they are happy to wait and develop someone over time, perhaps they should stick to focusing on Andre.

Reports have already claimed that Andre would be interested in coming to the Premier League with Liverpool – or potentially another suitor – when the opportunity arises.

While Liverpool work out their hierarchy of targets, they might also have to be wary of a new Bayern approach for Palhinha. If beaten to his signature, they would have to focus elsewhere, but maybe they aren’t out of the running just yet.

And while the January transfer window can be a quiet time for major deals, Liverpool have looked to make use of it in recent years. The last two winter windows have seen them sign Luis Diaz and Cody Gakpo respectively.

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